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Dominic Oliver

Managing Head, Bedales Senior School

BA (Hons) M. Phil

What makes a good teacher at Bedales?
One of the things that I love about the school is that just as there isn’t a typical Bedalian, there is no standard mould of Bedales teacher either.  However, there are some qualities that all the best teachers do exhibit, not least expertise and passion for their subjects alongside the strongest communication skills. Of course, no-one will survive for very long here if they don’t have a sense of humour!

What are you trying to encourage and instil in the children?
That it all joins up and that it all matters: “Head, Hand and Heart” isn’t just a catchy bit of tripartite repetition, it means that everything they do has value.

Apart from your teaching role, what else do you get involved with at the school?
I’ve done tasters of a fair few things including the odd morning’s baking. I’m starting to sneak my way into things musical (I was a chorister for many years) and will be trying my hand at African Drumming down at Dunhurst. I’m trying to add to the list all the time.

In your opinion, what makes Bedales special?
It’s wonderful to be part of a place that has a history as rich and richly developing as Bedales. This has always been a school where the label holistic is truly meaningful – we are not only interested in developing the whole person but actively seeking to do so. Where else could a student move from rebuilding a tractor, to studying quantum mechanics, to signing up for blood donation all in the space of an hour and a half?

Who or what inspires you?
There is a wonderful  - and peculiar - poem by Andrew Marvell called ‘The Garden.’ The closing lines envision a space of carefully nurtured and benign fertility and when looking over the school grounds the words often come to mind:

How well the skilful gard'ner drew
Of flowers and herbs this dial new ;
Where from above the milder sun
Does through a fragrant zodiac run ;
And, as it works, th' industrious bee
Computes its time as well as we.

Tell us something not a lot of people know about you.
I worked for the Illinois Police in the early 1990s. To this day hearing Eric Cartman shout ‘You will respect mah authoritah’ fills me with fear…

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